mon to fri 10am-5pm sat & sun 12pm-4pm

CMAG serves a unique role as a place to experience the diverse history and contemporary culture of the Canberra region; and through this to gain a deeper understanding of Australia’s dynamic culture in its global setting.

Current exhibitions

INK REMIX: Contemporary art from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

Fri 3 July – Sun 18 October

Contemporary ink art has emerged as one of the most important artistic trends in recent years in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It has attracted significant attention internationally, and this is the first exhibition presented in Australia to respond to developments in ink art from across this region.

In the West, ink art is commonly associated with traditional forms of Chinese painting and calligraphy. This exhibition offers new ways of thinking about ink as a contemporary, dynamic, and diverse form of visual expression. Rather than focusing on the medium, practice, or the tradition of ink art, this exhibition explores the idea of ink as a contemporary form of visual representation that connects the past, present and future. It features more than 35 works of art from 14 artists produced in diverse media including: Coca-cola, tea, biro, ink jet prints, photography, video and animation.

A potted history of Canberra region ceramics

Sat 13 June – Sun 30 August

From a pinecone fashioned by fourteen-year-old Doris Todd in 1923 out of clayey soil turned at the site of provisional Parliament House, to Cathy Franzi’s porcelain bowls which celebrate the native plants and hills of Canberra thrown on a wheel 90 years later, A potted history celebrates the diverse facets of ceramics created in the Canberra region.

Not a comprehensive history but a lively
and engaging display of vessels and sculptures drawn from the CMAG collection, with additional objects from the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian National University, Parliament House, the Legislative Assembly and private collections.

X-rated:

the sex industry in the ACT

Sat 28 March – Monday 28 September 2015

Since the 1980s Canberra has been synonymous with sex in the minds of many Australians.
Twenty years have passed since it became legal to sell X-rated videos in the Australian Capital Territory.This exhibition explores the evolution of Canberra’s sex industry over the past 50 years.

The public is warned that some material displayed in this exhibition may cause offence.

Bettina Hill

Un-scientific

Sat 25 July – Sun 27 September

Bettina Hill produces sculptural effects in hand woven paper.

Un-Scientific is a low-tech geometric experiment which explores the physical properties of paper, a material we use every day, by literally bending the medium to the artist’s creative will. As a result of her intervention, long trellis-like sheets of hand-woven paper line the gallery’s walls and extend across the floor.

Hill’s management of her medium transforms a one-dimensional, flimsy material into a strong, malleable grid which is remodelled into semi-spherical shapes. The final effect suggests references to spatial analysis, the curvilinear forms of emerging contemporary architecture and the undulations of landscape. The work literally unravels at the edges of its form, evoking the untidy tangle of urban fringe environments.

Hill enjoys the ways in which her use of a simple material such as paper, can replicate the complex geometry of industrial design. The ’do-it-yourself’ nature of her project lends the title of this work an easy accessibility, which invites contemplation.

Bettina Hill graduated from the School of Art, Australian National University with Honours in 2007 and is a resident of Canberra.

Glass Alphabet

Sat 14 March – Sun 22 November

This unique conceptual work was originally shown at Craft ACT and was instigated by curator, Mel George. The work is composed of 26 individual objects, each depicting one letter of the alphabet, which have been produced by some of the most prominent glass artists in the Canberra region.

Canberra Stories Gallery:
New Chapters

Ongoing

Artefacts from CMAG's permanent collection tell new stories about sport, leisure and community in the Canberra region.

The Foundation Collection

The Nolan Collection Gallery

Works on display from the Foundation Collection by eminent Australian artist Sidney Nolan. This significant collection was donated to the people of Australia in 1974 and includes the Burke and Wills expedition, Under the pier and works from the Ned Kelly series.

Canberra Museum and Gallery manages the Nolan Collection on behalf of the Australian Government.